16.8.08

10 more days.

nothing makes me happier than when i'm sitting in a movie theatre seat, a vegan cookie in hand, and preparing to enjoy a long awaited indie film.

this weekend has brought me so much joy, i saw a total of 5 amazing films, with a 6th & 7th on sunday. check em out below... you can click the pic to be sent to their movie sites... ^_^

btw, i found out yesterday that i may have the opportunity to have my film reviews in a magazine... prim.Magazine to be exact... --->linkBrideshead Revisited is the film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s critically acclaimed novel of forbidden love, family, religion, class systems, and love triangles which is always exciting. The story is set in a pre-WWII era in England; evident through the excellent wardrobe styling and the language of the film. I am a big fan of period pieces [except those starring Keira Knightly], and this film was no exception. The film stars Matthew Goode (Match Point, Watchmen) as the endearing and handsome painter Charles Ryder. Charles early on becomes the entranced by the allure of the Marchmain family of Brideshead. His entrance into thi new world comes in the form of Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw; I'm Not There), a flamboyant young man with an alcohol addiction. Things become much more complicated when Charles becomes enamored with Sebastian's sophisticated older sister Julia (Hayley Atwell; Mansfield Park, The Duchess). The film does a good job at portraying all of the main characters in an in equal light; you'll find yourself loving and hating all of the main characters at different points in the film. While it is clear that Charles Ryder is the protagonist, you may find that his intentions aren't always as noble as you would expect. Religion plays a large part in the film and was a a major source of anxiety for the characters. On a side note, the costumes were amazing, such a point of inspiration that i will be drawing from for my fall wardrobe.

For fans of: Pride & Prejudice, Becoming Jane, Marie Antoinette.

The Visitor is a film by filmmaker Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) which tackles the current issue of illegal immigration in the United States. The film's lead is Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) who plays a widowed college professor named Walter Vale who is sent to NYU to present a paper he 'co-authored'. Upon his arrival to New York City, he discovers a young immigrant couple, Tarek & Zainab, living in his apartment. Not wanting to throw them out, he offers for them to remain living there, a gesture of kindness that benefited both parties involved. A friendship soon develops between Vale and Tarek (Haaz Sleiman; 24), with Tarek teaching Vale how to play the african drum. Drama ensues when Tarek is arrested over a misunderstanding and placed in an immigration facility. It's up to Vale to, for lack of a better word, come to the rescue of Tarek. Tarek's mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass; The Nativity Story), worried for the well-being of her son, arrives in New York to lend some form of assistance, but subsequently establishing herself as a love interest of Vale. Tom McCarthy enables the audience to see the immigration issue through a different lens, through the eyes of the people directly involved. It's a heartwarming story of rediscovering the joy in life, and learning how to love after loss. The film was an amazing portrayal of how difficult lives are for many living illegally in this country. The constant fear that at any point in time, someone could turn them in, or that they could find themselves in a situation when the truth comes to the surface. The film had an even amount of humor and drama; such a balance kept it from seeming too contrived.

For fans of: Crash, Reign Over Me.

In Henry Poole Is Here, Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore) plays the title character Henry Poole, a man who leaves his wife and previous life behind to return his childhood neighborhood upon the news he has a terminal illness. He assumes the life of a hermit, thinking he can escape the world, however that is easier said than done. When a prying next door neighbor named Esperanza (Adriana Barraza; Babel) discovers mr. Poole has an image of Christ in the stucco siding of his home, the bubble that he's been living in for so long is suddenly burst. When miracles begin happening to those who have laid their hands on the wall, Henry finds that he has his very own 'jesus in the toast' situation. Being a man who retreated to this neighborhood to wallow in his hopelessness, the idea of miracles and hope trouble him, and he reacts with aggression and adverseness to the whole thing. Next door, Henry's subsequent love interest in the film, Dawn (Radha Mitchell; Feast of Love, Finding Neverland) and her daughter Millie (Morgan Lily) help Henry to rediscover the life he's missing out on, and to garner a new sense of hope. The film has it's funny points, especially when we're introduced to the crazy cast of characters who come to visit Henry's Holy Wall. Overall, i feel the film was entertaining, but i didn't personally enjoy it too much, seemed like the writers could have gone much further with this.

For fans of: Saved!, Punch-Drunk Love.

XXY, the tag line can tell more than i can... "Our sex makes us men or women... or both." The film is centered around 15 year old Alex (Inés Efron) who is a hermaphrodite forced to hide her birth defect. As many of us know and understand, adolescence is a difficult time; discovering who we are and who we want to be, both socially and sexually. Alex passes as a tomboyish girl in a small fishing village in Uruguay, where her Argentine parents, Kraken (Ricardo Darinand) Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli) have escaped the cruel opinions and gossip they encountered in their native Buenos Aires, where Alex was born. Life is pretty stable until the day Alex punches and breaks the nose of her bestfriend Vando (Luciano Nobile). With Suli worried for her child's safety & well-being, she invites her surgeon friend Ramiro (German Palacios) and his family over for a visit. Suli thinks it best if Ramiro were to operate on Alex, but Kraken thinks it better to leave that decision up to Alex. Alex is soon forced to confront her sexuality when she discovers her love for Ramiro's son Alvaro (Martin Piroyansky), who also slowly develops a bit of a crush on Alex. There attractions culminate into a sexual encounter i'm sure will shock and awe, but is tastefully presented. The story is one of beautiful innocence which leaves us truly feeling for Alex and her family. Here i must note, this is a spanish language film; english subtitles.

For fans of: Boys Don't Cry.

Boy A (the film adaptation of the novel by Jonathan Trigell) is a story of a young man, Jack (Andrew Garfield; Lions For Lambs, The Other Boleyn Girl), who was newly released from prison for a murder he participated in as a child. As Jack attempts to reclaim the life that he for so long missed out on, he struggles with the memory of his past, and is inability to be honest with those around him who cares the most for. Peter Mullan (Children of Men, Trainspotting) plays Terry, Jack's uncle and mentor, who is forced to not only be a father to Jack, but to his estranged son Steve (Anthony Lewis; Torchwood) reenters his life. Jack's past soon catches up to him when his face appears in a local newspaper for saving the life of a young girl in a car accident. The events that occur leave Jack with no one to turn to, he loses his friends, his girlfriend Michelle (Katie Lyons; Green Wing), and his job. The world he knows soon becomes that of a media firestorm with no way of quelling the flames. The film reveals Jack's childhood in bits presented as flashbacks; his mother's struggle with cancer, his close friendship with a young boy named Phillip, and of course the crime they committed. The film does a good job at showing Eric/Jack's loss of innocence, his evident remorse for his actions, and his desire to just return to a normal life. I felt for Jack's character from beginning to end. This was an excellent film, and a definite must-see for anyone who is looking for a well-written drama.

For fans of: [i really can't place this story with any other movies out there... so just trust me on this one]

2 comments:

I really want to see Brideshead because I'd like to see how the film differs from the book. I liked the book a lot.

Next, I'd probably try to see XXY, just because of how different it is, and because it's in spanish. I don't know if you've read Middlesex by Jefferey Euginides(sp?), but it's about a hermaphrodite, too. It raises the question of if gender is something that you're born with or something more psychological that you're raised into. Something like that.